AstroGnostic: Witch Mountain and King Scorpion

Those dogs look like a major issue

Escape to Witch Mountain is one of the touchstones from my childhood. Though hopelessly dated and unbearably cheesy today, it introduced a generation of miserable latchkey kids in the 70s to a whole host of esoteric concepts- telekinesis, UFOology, Sirius symbolism (the alien kids in the film hail from a binary star system) and the very Gnostic idea that we are higher beings trapped in a fallen world.*

Indeed, the novel and the film are inherently Gnostic; in order to find the way to escape this world (with its callousness, greed and sadism) and return to their people, Tony and Tia must remember their true identities. And, of course, you probably know where my thinking pertaining to Gnosticism is going.

Which brings us to the latest installment in the Witch Mountain saga. Disney is releasing a new entry in the franchise in March called Race to Witch Mountain, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It's fascinating to me that Johnson is playing a cab driver in this film, of all things. I can't think of many other actors less appropriate for that profession, but it's the symbols we're after here.

Jake has done a lot of work on Masonic "checker" symbolism pertaining to the use of taxicabs in films, and that gives us a good jumping off point here, since the very name "The Rock" has a certain Masonic resonance.**

And like our new president, the Rock is biracial and has strong familial links to Hawaii.We recently looked at yet another Hawaiian hybrid, Keanu Reeves, in another remake of a UFO classic, and the trailer to the new Witch Mountain resonates with the The Day the EarthStood Still remake both symbolically and visually.

In Witch Mountain however, the Rock plays a different role. His mission is to bring the aliens (obviously of the "Aryan" variety) to Witch Mountain while being pursued by a Man-in-Black, played by the brilliant Irish actor Ciaran Hinds (aka "Best-Caesar-Ever").

Seeing that The Rock is about as believable as a cab driver as Megan Fox, what are his qualifications for this particular role? Well, regular Secret Sun readers, familiar with the Egypt-Alien mythos that is coming to define our age, will surely realize that its The Rock's portrayal of the Pre-Dynastic Horus King in The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King that make him the natural choice for this franchise.º

The only other evidences to date of the existence of a King Scorpion come from small serekhs found on vases. Serekhs were the enclosing devices within which the early names of Kings were written. A serekh of Scorpion may occur on a wine jar from Minshat Abu Amar, though this inscription has also been read as being that of "Aha," the later First Dynasty King who may have been the same king known by Manetho as Menes..

Some Egyptologists hold that Menes and Narmer are the same person; some hold that Menes is the same person as Hor-Aha and that he inherited an already-unified Egypt from Narmer; others hold that Narmer began the process of unification but either did not succeed or succeeded only partially, leaving it to Menes to complete...''

Whatever the case may be, according to Ancient Egyptian historians, all of the aforementioned individuals ruled in the period folllowing the end of the rule of the gods.And who was the last god to rule Egypt?

Horus.

Indeed, whoever the Scorpion King actually was, as ruler of Egypt his true name wasHorus Scorpion, and he was seen to be the natural heir of the god. Which is fascinating since in Witch Mountain, the Scorpion King is following the directions given to him by his young alien friends. Which brings us back to some old friends...

The "Followers of Horus" were a group of beings who were closely connected with Osiris, and having "followed" him in this world they passed after him into the Other World, where they became his ministrants and messengers, partaking of his immortal nature, and sharing his life.EA Wallis Budge,The Liturgy of Funerary Offerings

I've written repeatedly about the indelible link (via esoteric Masonry) between Ancient Egypt and Ancient Astronauts in the context of the Shemsu Hor. We've looked at Hancock and Bauval's theories that the Shemsu Hor sought to create a mirror of Heaven in order that they may follow Horus on his path through outer space to Osiris and Isis, in the constellations of Orion and Canis Major, respectively.

OK, and this has what to do with The Rock?

Again; in Race to Witch Mountain, what we have here is The Rock - who previously portrayed an incarnation of Horus- ushering alien siblings back to their home in the stars. Did I mention that Isis and Osiris were themselves siblings?

So, on one level- the exoteric, surface level- Race to Witch Mountain is just a Disney kids movie with an ex-wrestler in the lead role. On the esoteric, symbolic level, Race to Witch Mountain is consonant with nearly everything we've been looking at here on The Secret Sun over the past year.

* Strangely, I filed Escape to Witch Mountain away in my own memory, though it would surface in extremely vivid dreams I had as a teenager about telekinesis. And I unconsciously nicked the Winnebago chase across California for a unsold screenplay a friend and I had actually submitted to Disney in early 2001. Work on the project was interrupted, seeing that my writing partner lived a block away from the World Trade Center. But it wouldn't be until my harrowing ride to Esalen in June that memories of the film were kicked loose, since the original Disney film was filmed around Route 1 and Big Sur. And a reader brought the film up when we were mulling over the Stairway to Sirius symbolism during the election.

**The trailer gives us some strong links to The X-Files semiotic universe, certainly via the alien bounty hunter and the presence of the luscious Carla Gugino, former star of TV's most egregious X-Files knockoff, Threshold.† We looked at Narmer in the context of Disney's Oannes Brothers and sure enough, the young New Jerseyeans dropped in on Sasha and Malia Obama during the inaugural festivities.

º Here's a synopsis of The Scorpion King: In an ancient time, predating the pyramids, the evil king Memnon (Brand)is using the psychic powers of his sorceress Cassandra (Hu) to fortell his great victories. In a last ditch effort to stop Memnon from taking over the world, the leaders of the remaining free tribes hire the assassin Mathayus (The Rock) to kill the sorceress. But Mathayus ends up getting much more than he bargained for. Now with the help of the trickster Arpid, tribal leader Balthazar (Duncan) and an unexpected ally, it's up to Mathayus to fufill his destiny and become the great Scorpion King.- ruinedendings. com

I changed the heading of this from Astronaut Theology to AstroGnostic, since I see the Witch Mountain symbolism as being more Gnostic than Masonic/Mithraic.

Cool, Terry- I haven't heard all of Steve's appearance on the Freeman show- I'll listen to it tomorrow. Interesting that the three of us were sniffing out that particular meme at this time. I saw the big display for Witch Mountain when I saw TDTESS.

Witch Mountain: W/M. I've seen it once when I was about 3 or 4 so I don't remember one bit of it. I will always be partial to the Halloween specials with their dark, mysterious overtones and symbolism. One that escapes my mind is a Dr. Seuss Halloween special which I adored.

I'll never forgive you (in jest, of course) for making me watch that awful, awful movie National Treasure. I think it redefined (or added to) my idea of what a "bad movie" is, in that the movie is inherently dark-hearted and potentially brain-damaging, and also ridiculously odd. :P Never mind that it is basically a Disney World ride version of a Freemasonic initiation, it is just riddled with wrong directions, and I can't imagine it being a successful family movie as there are so many awkward moments of masonic "pride" (with the trumpets and fanfare and all that) which cannot truthfully be explained to children. Anyway, thanks for pointing it out to me, it was a symbolism+hubris goldmine.

thanks James for the light comment. I was all kinds of confused on that one. I was outside pumping some gas into my car and I looked up at a light silhouetted by the night sky. When I squinted I just saw two distinct rings, one yellow, one white and one blue. I thought maybe it is because of my blue eyes or maybe the type of light bulb used. because that had never happened before. Light perception and the eyes is a very interesting topic for me.

I have been keeping a synchronicity log and I must say, that for me at least, the number 47 is a repeating theme. I think in writing, or from a writers perspective you want to cast theme upon your audience and let action points move the plot. Synchronicity, in my opinion, is becoming somewhat more real and or believable the more I monitor it. To say it another way, there are times you observe and are active or complicit in the exchange with the cosmos. And then there are other times where it is observing you. The handshake where those two meet, for me at least, has created an observable theme. Thus a light wielded at you and yet at times simply shadows cast upon you.

"ABC has confirmed that The Witches of Eastwick or Eastwick will grace the screen next season. The script will be based from the movie, the John Updike novel, and 2002 script that included the Desperate Housewife, Marcia Cross as one of the witches."

"Eastwick: ABC has ordered a pilot for this drama, loosely based on the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick starring Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer, THR reports. It could be Desperate Magical Housewives. Sexy! TAG: A-"

Dang... I shouldn't have been listening to Bernard Herrmann film music prior to reading this. Makes me start wondering about Taxi Driver now...

While we're still on The Day the Earth Stood Still (following the "hybrids from Hawaii" theme), Herrmann wrote the music for the original. Too perfect. Makes me wonder what weird mojo Mr. Herrmann might have been hooked into. There's just something slightly otherworldly about his most of his music. It's almost like having a heightened sensory experience.

Oh yeah, and he wrote the music for Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast...

Tommy, NT is a very bizarre and disturbing film which is exactly why I find it so entertaining. But it seems just a prelude to Crystal Skull since the two movies are so closely linked. And yes there is the Templars and Masonry and the rest but the film is actually about a battle between the two main sects in the occult hierarchy, symbolized by Ben and and Riley and Abigal and Ian and his entourage.

Anony 7:24- 47 has significance in Freemasonry. Bonus factoid: I used to work on the 47th floor of the Empire State Building (and the 17th, too!)

Davidly- Escape is one of those films whose riches are in the semiotic vein, not necessarily the narrative vein.

Aferrie- yep, that's why I posted this today. Thought the timing was fortuitous.

Lynnertic- I'll skip that one. I can't watch TV dramas anymore. I find the overproduced reality of them suffocating. Bonus factoid- Witches of Eastwick was filmed in Cohasset, MA, where my dad lived. Cher was almost killed in an accident on Route 3 while filming that. Shame about the movie, though. Awful.

Anony 10:47- Herrmann is one of the great ones. Where did they all go?

Dynamitie- I haven't watched a lot of BG. I think the show is mainly a political allegory. I thought it was a bit preachy, but I know a lot of folks like it.

Ratteie: There you go! Any BG fans, give me a heads up if there's any esoteric goodies in the proceedings.

"A generation of miserable latchkey kids in the 70s..." Miserable? You must be joking? I think we were probably the last generation to have any semblance of a "normal" care-free childhood.

My nieces and nephews are driven or walked with guardians everywhere they go (even in their own neighborhood). Never once have they banged out the screen door on a summer morning with nothing more than a "Be back at lunch time." Jumped on a ten speed or skate board and zoomed around town.

While it was by no means perfect, I look back at my 70s childhood through a gauze of golden sunlight. Anyway, I don't mean to hijack and this is meant in the spirit of good fun.

Witch Mountain made an indelible impression on me as well.... and I can't even really remember much of the movie... yet it remains a touchstone.

Just figured out a Mad Men connection to the two aforementioned remakes: John Hamm as a scientist in Day the Earth Stood Still remake, and Elizabeth Moss as the girl in the 1995 Witch Mountain remake. Not sure if that could mean anything, but it's a little weird.

And how often does one see the name "Tia?" I can only think of one person with that name, and it's spelled "Téa."

Too much 17s and 33s and Olympic gods involved to be merely "political".

What we get presented here (i think) is the creational myth and the esoterics of the most powerful secret societies.Trust me, this stuff gets wayyyy esoterical once it got started."They" ´re giving away free lessons in "their" beliefs, also an allegory of how "their" belief (hedonistic paganism, as i get it) is trialed by the upcoming monotheism (cylons). Its "their" "How we got kicked out of Egypt and sought a new Land, whichs happened to be earth, so we created you all, so we are your gods" - thing. Right in front of our eyes, presented in a sf-series format for us to consume (devious and highly entertaining)

I knew about the subtext, but hadn't seen much deep symbolism in the eps I watched, which seemed more of a parable of the Bush Era. Which is interesting in and of itself certainly. Of course the original BG was a Mormon parable, which is very interesting as well. I need to re-read Bramley on Mormonism.

You can watch selected eps on Hulu, maybe I'll dig in tonight and see what's what. I'm always hungry for new entertainment (and symbols)!

Oh, I definitely picked up on the "inner struggle" aspect of it. Ben G8s just might represent the Templars, Riley is the "hip" Zionists, I guess Abigail is either a Jesuit or just there to say "hey, women are accepted into masonic rites now too! (as long as you're being put in dangerous situations, like the little kids throughout the movie)" and Ian is the "Luciferians"/"Islamic Brotherhood" (made obvious by his blonde hair and black clothing). I actually had a fun time watching, just looking back on it, it had so many bad lines and weird plot devices (such as all the "dead ends", equally frustrating for the audience). Entertaining if you ask me. It even shows you what each sect is expert at and responsible for (I.E. illegal surveillance, stealing, lying, hoarding gold). "My mind is going... I can feel it." - HAL 9000 and me while watching NT

Also, the Last Templar came on last night but I missed it. The title is funny, it's like "there's no more of 'em, take your inquisitions elsewhere!"

I wasn't being wise, just sharing my love of the escape. Thinking about it now, though: surely some of the semiotics spring directly forth from the narrative, no? Like that box with the stars on it, etc.

Ahh, now you've got me really curious. I did notice a sort of "timeline" (especially after they find the clock tower on the back of the $100 bill showing 2:22. Soon after, Riley says "3:22... My idea.") where a few current syncs were showing up, such as the scene where Ben and Riley plan to proactively steal the DoI on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. It's interesting that after Ben syncs with Lincoln, they steal a symbol which represents Freedom before Ian does (and it implies that if leaders don't steal your freedom first, their enemies will. Huh.). One of the "treasures" at the end is a statue of Osiris, which Riley hugs for what seems to be no reason, but in following Ben (ben-ben) he is in fact follower of Osiris. A lot of signs are pointing to Obama/Osiris and Skull and Bones/Masons, and of a "new" (rather, ancient) religion coming to light within this timeline. Ian (Ia(n)/Ea) undoubtedly represents Set, representing the chase after the material value of the treasure.

I'll have to read more Egyptian Mythology to reach any valid points, but I think I'm getting somewhere...

"Just figured out a Mad Men connection to the two aforementioned remakes: John Hamm as a scientist in Day the Earth Stood Still remake, and Elizabeth Moss as the girl in the 1995 Witch Mountain remake. Not sure if that could mean anything, but it's a little weird."

i first saw Elizabeth Moss as "ZOe"; the First Daughter on The West Wing (WW?)...after some checking; she starred as Robin [what up, jake] in the television movie Bad Girls, did Heart of America in 2004, and played a burn victim in Girl, Interrupted with Jolie and Ryder...She is engaged to Saturday Night Live star Fred Armisen. She is a Scientologist.

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